Not sure what I think about this re the WMATA General Manager position

Doug Duncan, former county executive for Montgomery County Maryland, and a one-time candidate for Governor of the State of Maryland, has thrown his hat in the ring to be the General Manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority according to this report, "Duncan reportedly considers Metro head position" in the Baltimore Sun.

While I agree that Mr. Duncan is an excellent administrator and understands politics, and he had ultimate authority over the Montgomery County RideOn bus service, one of the most successful suburban bus systems in the U.S., so he has some direct transit experience, I think that the past year's issues with systems and safety problems with the subway system have proved the necessity of having a top executive that has a deep background in fixed-rail transit services.

Were a politician to be hired to be the GM, a supra-strong #2 executive with deep experience in rail would have to be hired simultaneously. But I would rather that deep rail experience be considered the most important qualifier for the position, not politics.

We don't know what the National Transportation Safety Board is going to recommend, once they release their report on the June crash that killed 9. As the variety of safety-related worker deaths over the past year have proven, there are serious systemic and process issues within the system management and culture that have to be addressed.

Were I in charge, I'd likely recommend an overhaul of the top management of the rail division (meaning that a lot of people would be fired).

Of couse, after the NTSB hearings later this month we'll know which direction the transit system will have to move.